[right][img]https://i.imgur.com/Qj8Wb8D.png[/img][/right]
[h2][color=f26522][u]First Night, Kyoto Forest[/u][/color][/h2]
Interacting With: [@Digimata]
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Kyoto was a beautiful city.

It would be an amazing place to set down roots once she won.

Fragrant steam wafted up from her coffee cup, filling her nose with the smell of coffee, chocolate, and cream. There was an excellent view of the city from her spot on one of the hills surrounding Kyoto. Spread out in a tapestry of intersecting streets, it didn't have the skyscrapers that dominated the skyline of so many modern bustling cities. Yet it still glittered and glowed like so many of them.

A breeze flowed past her, turning the wisps of steam into a long ribbon. The trees around her rustled with the sound, mixing with the natural ambiance of the forest at night. It wasn't the wide open plains of her home. Yet that didn't matter in the end. There was nothing back in America for the Rainwrights, but stagnation and death. Their future was here in Kyoto, with her victory in this War.

She took a sip of the vibrant blend in her cup. Her eyes closed as she savored the taste. When she lived here, that coffee shop was to be a regular destination. To win this war, however, she needed a servant. Opening her eyes again, she put a hand against the step she had been sitting on and pushed herself up. Dusting the seat of her pants off, she turned to climb up the steps she'd sat down on.

All the preparation had been done before she had gone to get herself a coffee. Sneaking in at night was child's play. Setting up a simple bounded field to keep people away was a little more complicated. Luckily Shinto had spiritual beliefs that were at least somewhat in line with her magecraft. Reaching the top, she passed under the torii that marked the beginning of the shrine proper.

It was as if she had entered another world. The torii was meant to represent the transition from the mundane to the sacred. A distinct line that separated the inside and the outside. It was the perfect place to begin her bounded field. The faint smell of incense filled the, despite only a few sticks being lit along the outer edge of the field. Placed at the foot of the shrine itself, a bundle of rice cakes was made as an offering to the Kami.

It was inscribed into the stone tiles at the center of the shrine's courtyard. A circle drawn from specially prepared herbs, the finely ground leaves forming an intricate pattern on the ground. It didn't matter what she used to draw the circle, only that she used something of value. It wasn't entirely foreign to her, the base principles were something she was familiar with. The symbols, the layout, the manner, that was what was foreign to her; just like this land.

A small sigh escaped her as she took another sip of her coffee. Looking over the circle one last time, if there was a fault, she saw none. Even if she got something minor wrong, it wouldn't change the result. It was mostly handled by the Grail anyway. Stepping off to the side for a moment, she placed her coffee cup down on one of the stone benches that surrounded the courtyard. Reaching into one of her pockets, she dug out a small wooden box.

Flipping the top open, she'd pluck out a single hand-rolled cigarette. Moving back towards the circle, she dug out a small silver lighter. A flame lit up the shrine as she struck the ignition. Lighting the cigarette before closing the top, she brought the cigarette to her lips and breathed in deeply. The smoke filled her lungs. In her mind, a familiar mantra echoed.

[right][i]Creator of All, Grant Me Power.[/i][/right]

As she exhaled, the prayer flowed out of her, and power flowed into its place.

The cores scattered throughout her body began to spin, and circuits raced through her to connect them. Od was converted into Magical Energy, and that small bit was sent into the tip of the cigarette in between her fingers. The faintly burning end ignited with a blue flame. Holding it out above the magic circle, she tapped it.

[color=f7941d][right][b]"Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill."[/b][/right][/color]

Five glowing blue embers fell. They landed on the bottom of the magical circle. For a second it seemed as if they would simply fade. Before the herbs ignited. Blue fire blazed along the lines of herbs, lighting the shrine in a brilliant cerulean blaze. Shifting her stance, she pointed her left hand towards the blaze. The faint smudges on the back of her hand showed her the path she had to walk.

[color=f7941d][b][right]"Let it be repeated five times, and each broken once filled."[/right][/b]
[b][right]"Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation."[/right][/b][/color]

Mana was converted into Magical Energy as it flowed into the circle, a searing pain glowing on the back of her right hand. Yet the pain was something every Magus lived with. Every circuit burned through her body, and she ignored it. To practice Magecraft was to walk with death. She poured more magical energy into the circle, her voice echoing through the shrine.

[color=f7941d][b][right]"Let my people be my ancestors."[/right][/b]
[b][right]"Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall."[/right][/b]
[b][right]"Close the four cardinal gates."[/right][/b]
[b][right]"Come out from the crown."[/right][/b]
[b][right]"Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom."[/right][/b][/color]

The blaze grew larger and brighter. Magical energy was gathered in the tornado of blue fire that had formed in the center of the shrine. Reaching higher and higher towards the sky. A call was sent out into the beyond. From both the Grail and the Magus, seeking out one who could answer the siren's call of a Grail War. One who would match the spirit of this particular Magus.

[color=f7941d][right][b]"I shall declare here."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"Your body shall serve under me."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"My fate shall be with your sword."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"If you will submit to this will and this reason…… then answer!"[/b][/right][/color]

It was no longer fire. Pure magical energy swirled in a vortex. Something forming in the heart. The Spirit that answered her call manifested into the world. The wind grew stronger, sending the trees rustling and incense smoke flying. Even her coffee cup shook on its bench across the courtyard. Shifting her foot for a better grip, she pressed onwards.

[color=f7941d][b][right]"I shall declare here."[/right][/b]
[right][b]"Your body shall serve under me."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"My fate shall be with your sword."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."[/b][/right]
[right][b]"If you will submit to this will and this reason…… then answer!"[/b][/right][/color]

There was no doubt in her heart. There was no second thoughts in her head. There was no option for her beyond one. She must win this war. She must succeed. The Rainwrights must claim Kyoto as their Spiritual Ground. If her family was to have a future, then they must make it here. She must make it here. Even as the wind sent her hair streaming behind her, she brought her cigarette to her lips. Breathing in again, another prayer escaped with the smoke.

[i][right]Creator of All, Grant me Strength[/right][/i]

[b][right][color=f7941d]"From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!"[/color][/right][/b]